EAST RUTHERFORD -- When teams win championships, they almost always talk about a special bond that existed between players. It's something they notice early on and it helps them through the inevitably tough times that will occur at some point during the season.

It's still August and the regular season is still a few weeks away. But wide receiver Victor Cruz can see that special championship-type bond with this Giants team.

"Having been there, and having been fortunate enough to win a Super Bowl, I know what type of energy, what type of camaraderie it takes to get there. And I think this team is almost there," Cruz said on Tuesday. "We're a very close bunch. We spend a ton of time off the field together as well, which is rather new than year's past, having guys that spend time together off the field and spend time together with each others' families and things like that. That hasn't been the norm around here for a while now."

Cruz didn't expand on where exactly it went awry in recent years. The Giants, who won a Super Bowl 30 months ago, were a veteran team that made a few minor tweaks each of the past few offseason. They had more established players with wives, families and outside obligations.

The Giants made a handful of moves this year. They seemed to put an emphasis on character (maybe with the exception of the embattled John Jerry) and drafted more than a handful of team captains. They're also younger and less proven than last year.

It seems to be paying off, and it hasn't been a forced effort.

"It just happened naturally," Cruz said. "Guys started to click and started to hang out and it started to increase from there. You can see it in the locker room. Nobody is in their own sections. Everybody is mingling together, talking, whatever the case may be. I noticed it and it's been fun to watch."

This is exactly what the Giants want. This is the type of environment that coach Tom Coughlin (whose wife Judy was in the building on Tuesday) tries to create.

It is exactly what the family-oriented coach has emphasized, beginning at the first team meeting of the year.

"That's one of the first things I noticed, especially coming from Coach Coughlin. That is how he conducts his meetings," said cornerback Walter Thurmond, who spent the first four years of his career in Seattle. "I didn't expect it to be how it is [with the Giants]. It's a long-standing tradition here. It's a family-owned business. They have high standards as far as what they ask from their players and everybody that works here. It's a real family atmosphere."

Now it's just a matter of whether that atmosphere can carry over to the field. Character and camaraderie mean little if there is insufficient talent.

The Giants are currently thin at several offensive positions, specifically the offensive line. Quarterback Eli Manning admitted Monday he's not even sure the five players that will start Week 1 on that unit.

The line, more than any other area of a team, takes time to gel. They need to be able to communicate non-verbally and without hesitation. The hope is that this bond that Cruz speaks of will help streamline the process. The hope is that it helps the struggling preseason offense get it together quickly, just in time for the regular season.

"It's just such a tight bunch that once we get things down on the field and build that continuity and family atmosphere, more than what it already is, I think we'll be a tough team to stop," Cruz said. "And it should be fun to watch."